Game Recap

Game Recap

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans dropped their second game to UBC in as many nights as, much like Friday, they fell behind early and, despite a strong second half, ended up losing 90-77 Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.

The Spartans came out flying as they took a 6-0 lead in the opening minute and a half but it didn’t take long for UBC to get back in the game as they went on a 13-3 run to take a 13-9 lead and, ultimately, an advantage they would hold for the rest of the game.

For TWU, the loss drops their record to 2-2 after starting the year with a pair of road wins against Lethbridge. The win improves UBC’s record to 3-1 on the year with its only loss being a 97-96 defeat against Saskatchewan at home last Saturday.

The difference in the game was simple. The T-Birds shot 52.5 per cent from the field while the Spartans managed to shoot just 39.4 per cent.

In the first half, especially, the disparity in shooting percentage was the notable. The Spartans made a mere 31.4 per cent of their field goals compared to the T-Birds 51.6 per cent. The Spartans were also particularly poor from beyond the arc as they went 4-for-19.

While TWU struggled to shoot, UBC’s offence, which averaged 92.7 points per game coming in, continued to light it up as they put up 50 points in the first half for a 50-35 lead after 20 minutes.

In the second half, the Spartans improved in almost every aspect of the game as they shot 48.4 per cent from the field, 37.5 per cent from three-point range and 90 per cent from the free throw line.

“It looked like it was heading down the same path [as last night] but then we made that run and I thought the character of the guys to fight back was imperative for our success in the future,” said Spartans coach Scott Allen. “We have to go through some tough times and those valleys right now before we can head up to the top of the mountain. We know we’re heading that way and that’s exciting. Every quarter we get better and more familiar with what we’re doing.”

But while TWU improved dramatically, so did UBC. The Thunderbirds shot 53.6 per cent from the field and 41.7 per cent from beyond the arc.

The improved shooting allowed TWU to outscore UBC 42-40 in the second half but they had dug themselves too big of a hole to climb out of.

“Today was a much more positive game,” Allen said. “We limited our turnovers and the things we wanted to accomplish today, we did except for getting the ‘W.’ UBC has got a seasoned team and that’s the difference right now. We have huge room for growth.”

Despite the rally from TWU, the T-Birds never let the Spartans within 10 down the stretch as they were just too consistent and too deep for the Spartans to handle.

British Columbia was led by Josh Whyte and Doug Plumb who both had 21 points. Kamar Burke led UBC with six rebounds.

GAME NOTES – The Spartans outrebounded UBC 40-25…TWU has now allowed their opposition to score 85.5 points per game…After giving up 34 turnovers Friday, TWU only had 18 Saturday…UBC had nine players play see 10 or more minutes of action.